BIOGRAPHY
Born in Metkovic in 1986 and making his professional debut in 2002 for his hometown club, Ivan Čupić would eventually grow up to become one of the most prominent Croatian handball players of all time.
The right wing spent the first five years of his career in his native Croatia before signing with Sociedad Deportiva Octavio Vigo for his first contract abroad in 2007. His first international success arrived shortly after, in 2008, when the 25-year-old won silver with the national team at the European Championship. During his active years, he added three more EHF EURO medals to his collection: silver in 2010 and bronze in 2012 and 2016.
Apart from gaining his first medal, 2008 also marked another important milestone for Ivan Čupić, who joined Gorenje Velenje with big ambitions and a desire to evolve as a player. However, while preparing for his first Olympic Games appearance in 2008, the Croatian wing suffered an accident in which he lost the ring finger on his left hand — a tough challenge that he managed to overcome, returning to the court only two months later.
From then on, the left-handed player continued to impress on the court both for his club and national teams. Ivan Čupić continued to perform at the highest level in major competitions and helped Croatia win silver at the 2009 IHF World Championship, then bronze four years later.
After two seasons in Slovenia at Velenje, he stayed with Rhein-Neckar Löwen until 2012, then moved to Industria Kielce where he won his first EHF Champions League title in 2016. He added two more trophies in the top-tier competition in 2017 and 2019 while playing for Vardar, before returning to Croatia to play for Zagreb.
The handball legend retired in 2024 at 38 years old, after a glorious career that included 18 seasons in the EHF Champions League and 137 appearances for the national team.
